Hi all,

I play Dr. Lorin, "Lorin," Carmichael, a 40 year old woman who grew up as an Air Force brat in a loving family.  She is a smart, compassionate, ethical nurse-midwife who decided to go back to school to become a psychologist, with specialties in trauma and forensic psychology, after encountering many women and families impacted by trauma, abuse, substance use, and mental illness. She has come to Hathian to put her skills to good use.

More specifically, I have some ideas I’d like to explore, which I will list below.  I realize these span a variety of groups, and I promise not to hog all the fun.  I just love job oriented RP and I figure the more I’m willing to explore, the more interaction I can have.  I promise, I'm not trying to power game here.

I realize some roles may be more in demand than others.  The theme for all of these ideas is essentially Lorin as a healer (of physical and emotional wounds). I'm hoping these ideas tie together well to give people a sense of who Lorin is, what she can do, and hopefully, give most people someone they can pull into their stories if they want.

Nurse-midwife - Before deciding to become a psychologist, Lorin received training as a nurse followed by graduate education to become a midwife. As a nurse, I would expect her to be able to help treat many of the common injuries within Hathian.  As a midwife, she would be capable of caring for women, pregnant or otherwise.

SANE/Medical-Legal Exams - One of the reasons she decided to become a psychologist in the first place was because she made a point to receive training as a nurse that would allow her to document medical evidence of violent crimes to be used in court. She witnessed firsthand the impact of such violence on people not just physically, but emotionally. I realize violent crime with injuries is common and may or may not result in an investigation or prosecution, but if anyone wanted to pursue such a story, maybe Lorin is the one that is called in to collect the medical evidence, take pictures, document, etc. before treating you? This wouldn't just pertain to the female patients, but anyone impacted by violent crime.

Psychologist - As a psychologist, I'm willing to have Lorin work with anyone looking for a therapist, as there doesn't seem to be too many of those here.

I'd be particularly, but not exclusively, game if anyone was looking for a therapist who specializes in trauma.  That seems to be a need for everyone in town practically, and I won't limit any ideas. If you want your character to get help, let me know and we can work something out.

I was even thinking if I could get knowledgeable and more experienced with design/objects, it might be cool to set up a crisis center in town to help crime survivors, the homeless, addicts/alcoholics in recovery, etc.  I envision Lorin is actively involved in facilitating a variety of support groups/therapy groups, whether through the hospital, a crisis center, or even the existing shelter program.

Forensic Psychology Expertise - Does the HPD need a profiler type or someone who can help interview traumatized witnesses and victims?  Maybe they  have a traumatized victim on scene or must break some difficult news to a victim's family and they want someone available who understands crisis counseling and how the legal system works? Maybe a member of HPD or HFD has seen too much violence or injury and is in need of his or her own counseling? Maybe there's a question of whether the officer is fit for duty?

Legal/Social Services - Maybe there's a question whether a suspect or inmate is competent to stand trial or was insane at the time of the crime?  Perhaps a defense attorney is trying to defend a traumatized client who needs someone knowledgeable about trauma to testify on his or her behalf? Maybe the prosecution is looking for something similar? Maybe social services needs someone to assess an adult or a child in their care?

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As I said, these are just my ideas of the kinds of things I would like to be able to help with. If there are people already doing this sort of stuff and any of what I suggested is stepping on toes, please let me know.  My intention is not to take away anyone's fun or to be all things to all people, but to give you and myself some opportunities for interesting stories.

Just to tell you a little about me, the writer, I am a therapist in real life who enjoys the opportunity to creatively role-play a therapist and trauma specialist without all the extra paperwork and insurance headaches. :-).  The ideas I've offered either represent things I have done or would like to do in my career.  Midwifery/obstetrics was my original dream, so I had to throw that in there. 🙂

I'm sure it will be obvious to everyone here, but I will say it up front: any of my therapy/psychology writing is for role-play purposes only. I use my real life education and expertise to inform my role play, but I'm not looking to treat or advise anyone in real life.  I know this doesn't really need to be said within this group, but I'm offering it because in contrast to RP, there are some people in SL who have put themselves out there as trained therapists looking to charge people for therapy sessions meant to address real life problems. This really bothers me, and I debated whether to use my real life background to inform my character at all just because I didn't want people to get the wrong idea. At the same time, I didn't exactly want to hide who I was as a person in case people had ideas or wanted to pick my brain someday.

Feedback would be most appreciated and if there are other similar places/businesses you want Lorin to be affiliated with, let me know.  Feel free to answer here or message me.

Thanks for reading,

~Lori